


just pity laugh, at least!

by benvoliotheorphan



Series: just a bunch of goofs [1]
Category: A Goofy Movie (1995), Animaniacs
Genre: Awkward Flirting, Bad Puns, Fluff, M/M, Not Beta Read, Probably ooc, i guess, i've never written for either fandom before so idk how this is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-12 15:48:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28512915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/benvoliotheorphan/pseuds/benvoliotheorphan
Summary: What happens when you mix someone who experiences anxiety based on his ability to make people laugh with someone embarrassed of his own laugher? A disaster, that’s what.Or: Max and Yakko are crushing hard but are oblivious to the other’s feelings.
Relationships: Max Goof/Yakko Warner
Series: just a bunch of goofs [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2126982
Comments: 30
Kudos: 174





	just pity laugh, at least!

**Author's Note:**

> idk if this is any good, i mostly wrote it as a way of coping with a super stressful two weeks of work. i never really thought i would ship anything for animaniacs, but i saw cute fanart of these two and apparently that's all it takes for me to like a crossover ship. i also saw a few people mention something about how yakko loves to make people laugh and max being embarrassed of his, and i was reminded of that one scene in mulan 2 where ling tried to make ting-ting laugh. and thus this was born!
> 
> end note will contain links to all the things i used as inspiration for this fic, if you have any interest.

Max let out a loud whoop as he finally burst through the front doors of his high school, eager to be done with learning for the week. His sentiments were shared by his friends, P.J., Bobby, Stacey, and Roxanne, as they all quickly made their way down the stairs and off school property. Though they were all glad to finally be on a normal schedule again after filming for A Goofy Movie had wrapped, high school was still an altogether unpleasant experience and each weekend felt like it was one worth celebrating.

“Man, I thought today would never end!” Max exclaimed as they all reached the sidewalk and quickly turned left, officially starting the walk to the neighborhood they shared.

“I know! Friday’s aren’t supposed to drag out like that,” P.J. agreed, every inch of his face sagging with exhaustion. “I’m so glad we’re free, I’m not sure I could stand another minute.”

Roxanne rubbed P.J.’s shoulder, her brow pinched with worry. “I believe it,” she said with a small nod. “You look like you’re about to pass out.”

“P.J., bruh, ya gotta rela-ax!” Bobby added, his usual loud and slightly obnoxious way of speaking doing well to cover up his concern - if Max wasn’t such a close friend, he likely wouldn’t have picked up on the slightly lowered tone.

P.J. huffed a sigh. “I know, I know. It’s just... Algebra’s been killing me.” He ran his hand over his face, his shoulders slumping. “And Dad’ll _actually_ kill me if I don’t pull my grade up.”

“We’ve got plenty of study groups,” Stacey gently suggested, “y’know, if you want some help.”

“Yeah, Peej,” Max added, slowing his steps until he walked by his best friend’s side, “we’re here to help if you need it, man.” P.J. gave him a tired but thankful smile, which only grew as the rest of their friends chimed in to show their support.

The walk home continued on, the conversation between the five friends slowly shifting from topic to topic: starting with setting up study sessions to help P.J., to plans for the weekend (it consisted primarily homework, unfortunately), to discussions about the post-production of the film that they had recently starred in. The walk was all-around peaceful and uneventful, the perfect way to wrap up a Friday.

And then, just as they entered their neighborhood-

“MAXIE!” an all too familiar voice cried out from down the road behind them, causing Max to instantly wince and groan while all of his friends shared knowing, amused looks. They all stopped and turned to see Yakko Warner several blocks away and gaining fast as he ran to catch up, his arms raised high in an excited wave. He continually called out Max’s name as he bounded towards the group, and any pedestrians between him and them were quickly scrambling to get out of his way.

“Well, would you look at the time!” Stacey proclaimed far louder than necessary after a beat, looking at her wrist as if there was a watch there even though there wasn’t. “We got a movie to catch, don’t we Roxanne?”

Roxanne nodded, smiling brightly. “Yep, we sure do! See ya, Max!” And with a cheerful wave, the two girls took off, walking ahead of the group at a quick pace and turning right at the intersection just ahead.

P.J. repressed a yawn as he turned to Max, though amusement still twinkled in his tired eyes. “I should head out too, man. I’m in desperate need of some sleep.” Then he followed the girls’ example and walked ahead, turning left instead of right at the intersection.

Max watched them leave, slack-jawed and sputtering, too shocked by Yakko’s appearance and their sudden departure to form a coherent thought. Desperately, he turned to his one remaining friend, managing out a weak, “Bobby?” as he did so.

Unfortunately, Bobby was already crossing the street, not even bothering with an excuse as he took off. “Bye Ma-ax!” he called out as he gave Max one final wave. “Have fun with your boy-friend!”

Max’s face instantly heated with a deep blush at the teasing tone. “Hey! He’s not-” he began to indignantly shout, even though all of his friends were now too far out of range to hear. He cut himself off, however, when a dark shadow suddenly fell over him. Quickly, acting almost purely on instinct, Max took a small step back and held out both his arms in front of him, just in time to catch Yakko in a bridal style hold.

“Hellooo Max!” Yakko greeted as he wrapped his arms around Max’s neck before leaning forward and leaving a giant, cartoony kiss against his cheek. Max felt his face heat up more; he knew that obnoxious kisses like that were common among the Warner Bros cartoons, but it never failed to make him flustered whenever Yakko opted to use that for a greeting. 

He really hated the fact that his heart had to decided it would be a good idea to develop a crush on a toon who constantly pulled such a move.

“Hi Yakko,” Max greeted, somehow managing to keep his voice deadpan despite how his heart hammered and his limbs shook. He moved to simply drop Yakko, but Yakko had long grown used to their little routine and quickly righted himself so he stood tall and proud in front of Max, a large gleeful grin stretching across his face. “Finish shooting early today?”

“Yep!” Yakko answered with an eager nod of his head. Max let out an inaudible sigh before continuing his walk home, Yakko quickly falling into place beside him. “My sibs and I were a bit too zany for the director today and he said he needed a break. Thought I’d swing by for a visit now that I got the time!”

“No Wakko or Dot?” Max asked, glancing around them for any signs of the younger Warner siblings. It was rare that one left the studio without the other two following. Part of him hoped that they’d drop in at any moment, as they always made a wonderful distraction for how nervous and flustered he got around Yakko.

Yakko shook his head and his smile took on an almost strained look, no longer quite reaching his eyes. “They wanted to hang out with the Tiny Toons, so it’s just me today!” Max raised an eyebrow at the sudden attitude shift; if he didn’t know better, he’d think Yakko was nervous.

Now that was an odd and rare sight. Why on earth would Yakko be nervous? Was he really so uncomfortable with being away from his siblings?

Well, it wasn’t any of Max’s business, he supposed. So he nodded and simply said, “Cool.” And just like that, any hint of nervousness from Yakko melted away, leaving a more genuine, if smaller, grin in its place. There was a small beat of silence as the two continued their journey to Max’s house, a rare occurrence with Yakko. Max wasn’t about to complain, though, all too eager to soak in a peaceful moment after a hectic day of school.

But, of course, being the one who yaks meant things couldn’t stay silent for too long when Yakko was around. “How was school?” he asked, voice oddly subdued.

Max glanced at Yakko, unsure what to make of his strange behavior, before answering with a shrug. “Same old, same old. Lectures that made my head hurt, got homework that’ll likely make me want to tear my hair out. Nothing exciting.”

“I can help ya with your homework, if ya want,” Yakko suggested, voice regaining some of its typical energy. Max turned to see Yakko was practically bouncing, his tail wagging back and forth, clearly excited at the prospect.

Max hated how adorable the sight was.

He smiled and shook his head. As tempting as the offer was, he had a feeling he would be more distracted than anything to have Yakko around while attempting to do his homework. “Thanks for the offer, but I think I can handle it,” he answered, and instantly Yakko deflated. Max’s smile faltered at the sight, it being a stab to his heart. Darn it. “Uh, but my friend’s been struggling even worse than me. Do you think you could help him sometime?”

Yakko perked up at the suggestion, though Max noted that he wasn’t as excited about the prospect as he had been with helping Max. Still, he smiled and nodded, saying, “Sure thing! A friend of yours is a friend of mine!”

“Cool! I’ll talk to him about it this weekend, try and set something up.” Yakko hummed in agreement and Max couldn’t stop himself frowning - Yakko had been acting oddly since he arrived, and so far Max had only succeeded to make things worse. Eager to return Yakko to his typical exuberant state, Max frantically thought over conversation options, grasping desperately at straws before finally settling on, “Um, how was filming today? What sort of sketch were you guys working on?”

The question seemed to have the desired effect, for in an instant Yakko was back to his regular self, his face lighting up as he said, “Why, I’m glad you asked, Maximilian!” He then proceeded to launch into an explanation of the skit he and his siblings had filmed that day, practically reenacting the entire thing himself in the process. 

Max smiled at the sight, his heart fluttering at Yakko’s obvious excitement. He had often heard several cartoons and humans groan at the mere prospect of listening to any of the Warners, but _especially_ Yakko, ramble on about some meaningless topic, but Max honestly didn’t get it. He was absolutely enraptured by the sight, from Yakko’s highly animated movements to the way his eyes practically shone. It was a breathtaking sight... not that he would ever let anyone know that.

The only downside to the whole deal was just how _funny_ Yakko and his stories were.

“Dot then demanded I try saying her overly long name, and of _course_ I do it perfectly the first time because I actually _memorize_ my lines,” Yakko said, causing Max to snort. “Then she ends up fibbing the next take and the rage she went into! I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone curse so much-” Max quickly turned away and bit down on his tongue to prevent himself from laughing. He sincerely hoped they decided to release the blooper real for that short because it sounded like a goldmine. “And then, when she finally got the name right, she had to look at the script for her next line!” Yakko burst into a fit of laughter, and Max could only force a smile as he struggled to hold back his own.

It was a miracle that Max had yet to bite off his tongue or choke to death while hanging out with Yakko. He couldn’t even chuckle around the guy! He’d learn his lesson already, it just took the smallest amount of laughter to pull an “ah-hyuck” out of him. It was bad enough his friends had to hear his embarrassing laugh, there was just no _way_ he could let his crush hear it.

Their conversation continued in a similar manner the rest of the way to Max’s house, with Yakko doing as his name suggested while Max happily listened along. When they finally reached his home, he was glad to note that his dad’s car was nowhere to be found, meaning Goofy was still working.

“You wanna come in?” Max asked Yakko, his face warming the instant he did. While it was true that Yakko had been inside his home before, there had always been someone else around, be it his friends or his father. He felt unbelievably silly for feeling so flustered as if they hadn’t spent the last ten minutes alone together.

Luckily, Yakko didn’t seem to notice his emotional state, and just shrugged and answered, “Sure.” He seemed... downtrodden again, which made Max frown. What happened? Not ten seconds ago he had been practically bouncing down the street!

Max swallowed as he watched Yakko walk past him and into his home, uncertainty suddenly chipping away at him. He was clearly doing _something_ to upset Yakko, but what?

Max remained silent as he entered his home, kicking the door close behind him before beginning his after-school routine. He kicked off his shoes next to the front door and haphazardly dropped his backpack next to them, then quickly made his way to the kitchen, which was located right next to the entryway of the home. Yakko silently followed, his presence far gloomier than Max had ever seen it.

At the center of the kitchen was an island, which Max quickly walked around to get to the refrigerator. Yakko stayed on the other side of it, casually leaning his elbow against the countertop. “You want anything?” Max asked as he opened the fridge and began to gather the materials for a sandwich. 

“Nah, I’m okay,” Yakko answered in an almost convincing nonchalant tone. Max glanced at him from over his shoulder before grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge.

He carefully carried all the food he gathered to the island, the refrigerator door swinging shut as soon as he was out of the way. Once his arms were free, Max slid the water bottle across the countertop to Yakko, who took it with a small smile and a grateful nod.

“Said I didn’t need anything,” he complained, not sounding at all upset.

Max shrugged as he turned to grab a paper plate from a cabinet behind him. “Hey, you walked all the way here from the Warner Brothers studio. Even an A-list toon would be dying of thirst in this heat.” When he turned back around, he was unsurprised to see Yakko was busy chugging the bottle of water, it’s contents already halfway gone. Max smirked. “See? What’d I tell ya?”

Yakko rolled his eyes as he pulled the bottle away. “Yeah, yeah,” he groused, though there was a smile clearly tugging at his lips, “don’t rub it in.”

Max simply shook his head in response as he set about making a sandwich. School lunch was far too early in the day, and he was starving. “Let me know if you want anything else.”

“Thanks,” Yakko said, idly sliding the half-empty water bottle from one hand to the other as he watched Max work. As more time passed and Yakko said nothing more, Max began to worry that he would soon grow bored. Yakko didn’t complain though, and as far as Max could tell he looked rather content to just sit and wait. Still, not wanting to be a bad host or friend, Max picked up his pace and tried to make his sandwich quicker. 

It wasn’t until Max began to pull out some lettuce for the sandwich that Yakko finally spoke up. “Hey,” he said, leaning over the counter a bit with an excited grin stretching across his face and his tail wagging once again. Max paused in his food preparation to give him a questioning glance, somehow able to school his features and not let on how adorable he thought Yakko looked at that moment. “Who would win in a race? Lettuce, a faucet, or ketchup?”

Max pretended to think the question over, tilting his head back and tapping his chin while letting out an over-exaggerated hum. After a moment or two, he finally turned back to Yakko with an amused grin and a shrug. “I don’t know! Who would win?”

“The lettuce would be a head, the faucet would still be running, and the ketchup would struggle to ketch-up!” Yakko beamed at him as soon as he finished the joke, looking very proud of himself.

It took Max a second to register the joke, something he would be embarrassed about later, but once it clicked it was a struggle to stifle back his laugh, his cheeks quickly becoming sore from the effort. “Nice,” he finally managed to get out with some effort, though his tone was far flatter than he had intended. He then quickly turned his attention back to his sandwich so he could mentally calm down again.

A small, annoyed huff made him look back up.

Yakko was frowning and had his arms crossed, looking all together put-out. “Oh, come on!” he groused, “Just pity laugh, at least!”

Max wasn’t sure what it was about it - maybe it was just the straw that broke the camel’s back after spending so long listening to Yakko’s jokes, maybe it was the way he had said it, or maybe it was just the mere fact that it was _Yakko Warner_ of all people who had said it. At the end of the day, it didn’t particularly matter exactly what triggered it, just that the dam was finally broken and Max could no longer contain his laughter.

It punched its way out of him as a wheeze, catching them both by surprise as he burst into a fit of giggles. And once started, Max couldn’t stop, quickly leaning heavily against the counter to keep himself upright. Yakko stared at him with wide, amazed eyes, as if he had never heard Max laugh before and was surprised he was capable of it; in all honesty, that was likely the truth, but Max was a bit preoccupied to consider the information.

But then the reason why Max was laughing dawned on Yakko, and his scowl and pout returned at full force. “Really?!” he exclaimed, his arms thrown up in the air. “ _That’s_ what makes you finally laugh?!”

“I’m sorry,” Max gasped out, trying and failing to reign in his laughter, “it’s just-”

And then it happened.

_“Ah-hyuck!”_

Max clamped both hands over his mouth as soon as the infamous Goofy laugh started, swallowing back any remaining laughter as he did so. His face instantly heated with embarrassment, and he stared at Yakko with wide, fearful eyes.

Yakko’s eyes were equally wide, his arms dropping down to his side as he stared slack-jawed back at Max. “No way,” he began after a beat of silence, his shocked expression slowly morphing into a wide grin as he excitedly pointed to Max. “You have the same laugh as your dad!”

Max groaned, shifting so his face was buried into his hands. He slowly slid lower and lower down the island until he could press his face against its surface and cross his arms around his head. He hunched his shoulders and braced himself for the laughter and mockery he was about to receive.

Only it never came.

Instead, there was a beat of silence, and then Yakko quietly asked, “Wait... are you embarrassed?” 

Max let out a small whine and nodded. Then, upon realizing how the action likely wasn’t obvious with his position, meekly answered, “I _hate_ my laugh.”

“Why?” Yakko instantly asked, his tone so incredulous it gave Max pause. “It’s adorable! I, personally, love it.” Max lifted his head just enough for his eyes to peek over his arms, allowing him to send an unamused glare Yakko’s way. To his surprise, however, Yakko didn’t seem to have a mocking or smug look on his face; no, he was simply smiling a small, sweet smile that made Max’s stomach twist. The smile fell when he saw Max’s glare, though, replaced with a thoughtful frown. “Is _that_ why you never laughed at my jokes?”

Max squeezed his eyes shut and nodded before burying his head in his arms again. He recalled how upset Yakko had seemed earlier and suppressed another groan. God, he must’ve come off as such a jerk.

There was yet another beat of silence before Yakko let out a loud, likely over the top but nonetheless genuine, sigh of relief. “ _PHEW!_ And here I was thinking that you thought I wasn’t funny!”

“Not funny?” Max repeated, his brow furrowing as he lifted his head, this time standing back up straight as he met Yakko’s gaze with his own. “Are you kidding me, man? You’re the funniest toon I know!”

Yakko quickly leaned over the island, stretching his body so he could get closer to Max’s face than what would ordinarily be possible with the counter between them, his hands clasped together by his hips and a bashful smile on his face. “You really mean that?” he asked, fluttering his eyelashes as he did so. Max snorted at the sight and came real close to rolling his eyes and making a snide comment about Yakko’s ego getting too big.

But then he noticed how stiff Yakko was: his shoulder subtlety shaking, his smile not reaching his eyes, the desperation that seemed to be shining just beneath the cartoonish expression. It gave Max pause, seeing this sort of... vulnerability from Yakko. He once again recalled the aggravation Yakko had displayed at how his plea was what got Max to finally laugh, as well as how sullen Yakko had been just before that.

Yakko Warner was a comedy toon, first and foremost. And he had just spent who knows how long thinking one of his friends found him unfunny.

And so, Max, for once in his life, bit back the teenage snark. He gave Yakko a warm smile and gently reached out to grasp his friend’s shoulder, silently thanking his lucky stars that Yakko still even considered him a friend. “Dude,” he said, squeezing Yakko’s shoulder in what he hoped was a reassuring manner, “I totally mean it. You’re the funniest toon around - funnier than even Bugs Bunny!”

Yakko blinked several times, his smile falling away as he processed the words. Then he pulled back to his side of the counter, causing Max’s hand to slip off as the distance grew too great, and let out a humorless chuckle. “Okay, now I know you’re messing with me. No one’s funnier than Bugs.”

“I’m not messing with you!” Max instantly exclaimed, and without even thinking, he launched himself over the island and would’ve smacked face-first on the ground at the other side if it weren’t for Yakko quickly catching him and holding him steady. Once his feet were back beneath him again, Max grabbed both of Yakko’s shoulders and pulled him in close until their noses were practically touching. He looked directly into Yakko’s eyes, desperately hoping that his sincerity was visible to the other toon as he said, “I’m sorry I didn’t make it clear earlier, that I let my self-esteem get in the way, but believe me when I say that as far as I am concerned, you are literally the funniest toon alive.” Max then pulled back a bit and smirked, letting go of one of Yakko’s shoulders to jerk his thumb at a nearby family portrait. “And trust me, my dad’s _Goofy_ \- I think I know a thing or two about comedy.”

Yakko’s face was red, far redder than Max had ever seen it, with his eyes blown wide and his mouth slightly agape. He stood stock-still, silently gaping at Max for several minutes, and suddenly Max was regretting everything in his life that led him to that very moment. He felt his own face warm as embarrassment and self-doubt wormed their way to the forefront of his mind. He dropped his hands back down to his sides, curling them into tight fists to keep himself from fidgeting, and began to take a step back to give Yakko more space-

Then, without warning, Yakko leaned forward and kissed him. On the lips. Max felt his posture stiffen and his face heat up more. It was different from the cartoony kisses Yakko had given him before: there was hardly any pressure to the gesture, no exaggerated movements, no loud “MWAH”. It was gentle, sweet, and it made Max’s heartbeat skyrocket to a speed he was sure would’ve been lethal for anyone who wasn’t a toon.

It was also over far quicker than any of the typical Warner kisses, with Yakko pulling back in the blink of an eye before Max could even properly process what was happening and reciprocate. It was now Max’s turn to gape at Yakko, and it was only then that he realized it was a feeling of _awe_ that caused the expression.

Yakko’s face had somehow grown even redder, looking shocked by his own actions. Once again several minutes of silence stretched between them, and he eventually looked off to the side and gave an awkward cough to break it. “Sorry,” he finally said, voice sounding a bit higher than it typically did. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but that was... _the_ most romantic thing anyone had ever said to me.”

A lump suddenly found it’s way into Max’s throat, and it took him a moment to push past it. “Did... did you. Did you _know_ ,” he began, stumbling over his words but already too flustered to really care, “that I. I had a crush on you this whole time?”

Yakko jumped at the question, one of his hands reaching up to push up along his forehead. There was an almost hysteric edge to the smile and small laugh he gave, and Max would’ve been worried if he wasn’t also currently experiencing it himself. “Not until you said that, no,” he answered. “Did you know I-?”

“No,” Max hastily answered, accidentally cutting Yakko off, “not until you kissed me, anyway.” He paused for a second before letting out an amused huff and clarifying with, “Well, until you like... _really_ kissed me.”

“Heh, yeah,” Yakko began, the hand on his head moving to rub at the back of his neck. “I guess the fake ones aren’t really a good hint when you do that with everyone, huh?”

“Not really, no,” Max agreed, grinning broadly as a sort of giddy feeling washed over him. Suddenly, all he wanted to do was laugh - at the absurdity of the situation, at how ridiculous he had been acting, not to mention how oblivious. He was somehow able to hold back on the temptation, however. There were more important matters to address with his _boyfriend_. “Do... do you wanna do it again?” he asked somewhat bashfully.

Yakko beamed and nodded eagerly, his tail wagging even harder than it had been earlier, before stepping forward, grabbing both of Max’s hands, and once again closing the gap between them with a kiss. Max wasted no time closing his eyes and reciprocating, instantly swept up to cloud nine. 

Unfortunately, he was only allowed to visit for a few seconds before he was forcibly dragged back down by the front door slamming open and his father’s exuberant shout of, “Oh Maxie! I’m home!”

In an even more unfortunate turn of events, since the entryway to the house was right next to the kitchen the two teens did not have enough time to pull apart before Goofy entered the room. Mortification once again befell Max as he and Yakko quickly jumped apart just as Goofy let out a surprised, “Oh!”

The three stood frozen as they stared at each other, and Max found himself silently wishing for the ground to open up and swallow him before he had to see what his dad’s reaction would be. While Goofy wasn’t too high strung a man, Max was one of the few who ever saw him truly upset. And while Roxanne had played his girlfriend in their movie, he had never really had a date in real life, so he was unsure how his father would react to the situation, never mind the fact that Yakko was from a rival studio.

But, much to Max’s surprise and relief, Goofy just smiled that bright warm smile he reserved for those he considered his family, especially his son. Max felt himself instantly relax at the sight, knowing full well that meant he wasn’t in any trouble, and a half-second later he saw Yakko do the same from his peripheral.

“Well, gwarsh! I didn’t know you were gonna have company over!” Goofy brightly said. “I would’ve planned to make dinner if I had known!”

Max let out a nervous chuckle and shared a glance with Yakko, who simply gave him a small shrug. “Heh, yeah, sorry Dad. It was kind of last-minute?”

“Yeah, sorry to intrude Mr. Goof,” Yakko added, acting more polite than Max had thought possible. 

“Aw, don’t worry about it!” Goofy reassured with a dismissive wave of his hand. “It’ll just take me a bit longer to get it ready, is all! You won’t mind staying late, would ya?”

Yakko reeled back a bit, clearly surprised by the invitation, while Max bit back a groan. He could already feel the impending embarrassment he was about to receive. “Uhhhh, sure, I can stay. My sibs will probably worry about me, though-”

“Well, they can come by too!” Goofy happily interjected. “The more the merrier, after all!”

“Oh. Thank you,” Yakko dazedly said, and Max felt a pinch of worry. Was it really so surprising for someone to invite him and his siblings over for dinner?

“It’s no problem!” Goofy said before turning to leave. “Well, I’ll leave you boys to it while I go change out of my work clothes!” And then, just as quickly as he entered the scene, he was gone, happily humming a tune as he made his trek back to his room.

There was a long moment of silence as Max just stood there processing what all had occurred. While nothing particularly bad had happened, learning his crush liked him back, and then having his dad instantly find out and be accepting of it was... a lot. And a far better turn of events than he could’ve ever predicted. As he slowly but surely began to wrap his mind around it all, Max turned towards Yakko to see he looked similarly bemused. The movement must’ve caught Yakko’s attention, though, for he was jostled out of his state just enough to turn and meet Max’s gaze.

They stared at each other for a beat, and then Yakko grinned widely at Max before bursting into a fit of laughter. Max felt himself grin, all of the events of the day finally clicking into place in his mind, and soon the giddy feeling from before returned tenfold. That, plus Yakko’s rather contagious laughter, led to Max bursting out into a fit himself.

Of course, as was usually the case, the infamous Goofy laugh once again reared its head almost as soon as he began to laugh. Without thinking, Max slammed his mouth shut and moved to clamp his hands over it. This time, however, he was stopped from doing so by Yakko gently grabbing Max’s hands and pushing them down.

Max blinked as he took a moment to register what had happened. He looked down at his hands before slowly moving his gaze up Yakko’s arms, continuing up and up until he was once again meeting Yakko’s eyes. Yakko smiled that small, soft grin again that sent Max’s heart aflutter, and slowly shook his head. Max returned the smile with one of his own, his shoulders relaxing at the silent reassurance. He felt rather silly for the habit, but he at least now had reason to break it.

And later that night, in amongst the zaniness and chaos as Wakko and Dot burst into the Goof household while Goofy attempted to throw together a meal, Max _finally_ allowed himself to properly laugh at one of Yakko’s jokes. 

**Author's Note:**

> links to things that inspired this fic:  
> \- [this scene from mulan 2](https://youtu.be/1Cm76g1FrDA)  
> \- [this game grumps bit](https://youtu.be/Gvqe_MIBNT8)  
> \- [this cute piece of fanart](https://mobile.twitter.com/junklex/status/1338898486717280264)  
> \- [and the joke i had to google because it is next to impossible for me to be intentionally funny](http://www.jokes4us.com/miscellaneousjokes/foodjokes/lettucejokes.html)


End file.
